Obama Sunset

We were supposed to go to an election night potluck at the church last night, but since it was a school night, Kevin and I decided to stay home and watch the election returns together.

As the results were coming in and I was finishing up the dishes, I saw the sky turn color from the kitchen window, and I just knew it would be "one of those" sunsets. As I grabbed the camera and ran outside, I passed beneath our open living room window and heard the anchorman call the election for Obama, and Kevin exclaim, "Mom! Oh my God, he won, Mom! He won!"

Then I looked up at the sky mauka from our driveway and here's what I saw, this big lovely break in the clouds, a giant glowing O in the sky...well, sort of...heh...too funny:


I showed Kevin and then ran up the hill a bit and got this one real quick. Not the best photo, but look at the colors!! No touch-ups I swear. It was gorgeous!! :


It's a SIGN!...heh.
Actually, the best signs of hope for the future that I've seen in quite a long time were McCain's gracious concession speech followed by Obama's historic and eloquent speech from Grant Park. It was so incredibly moving, I cried...such a marshmallow.

Aloha pumehana...

Vote!

Our freedom and our rights are precious. They've been defended at great sacrifice by so many. How can we even contemplate failing to protect them by not exercising our long fought right to vote?

And the fight was indeed long, particularly for women:

The single most impressive fact about the attempt by American women to obtain the right to vote is how long it took.
Alice Rossi, _The Feminist Papers_ (1973)

Seventy-five years it took, count 'em! And women have only had that right for eighty-eight years. Lest we forget the struggle, here are some images:



I'll be voting tomorrow with gratitude, respect, and excitement.
Hope you will be, too. :)

Aloha...

Hallowbaloo!

[Update Nov. 2 - Judging from the Metromix party pix this event really did turn into a bash, with some really cool costumes. We did see the stilt-walker peacock lady, but she went by through a crowd with her tail-feathers down and I couldn't get a good shot of her. Anyway, the photos are fun, so check 'em out. :)]

Tonight Kevin and I moseyed on down to Chinatown for the first annual Hallowbaloo Music and Arts Festival. This very old historic section of Honolulu has become a fulcrum of the arts community here, with galleries and antique shops and some very lovely restaurants.

This was the first Hallowbaloo, and since I brought Kevin, we went and left early. It was a bit slow in starting, but by the time we left around 8 pm, it was hoppin' with costumed people of all ages, wonderful food, dancing Chinese dragons, and some really fine music. For a first annual event, it was very well attended, and looked like it would become a rollicking bash by the time it ends at 1:30 am. All in all, quite the good time.

Of course, it was a perfect excuse to take some photos, too. :)











Aloha and Happy Halloween!!!

Natatorium

Here's another favorite spot of mine.

The old Natatorium was built to honor the 101 soldiers lost from Hawai'i and the veterans of WWI. It reminds me of the ruins of the Sutro Baths out at Cliff House in San Francisco. The filigree gate and the neoclassical arches are lovely; vaguely Parisian in a way that's difficult to describe. I keep trying to get a good photo that really captures that faded yet rather determined elegance quietly enduring amidst the usually bustling backdrop of Waikiki. Haven't quite accomplished it yet, but these are two that I like so far:


Along with many other spots on this island, it's one that's stolen a piece of my heart. <3

Aloha pumehana...

Vacation Time

We have tickets for our trip!

Finally! After a year and a half, I truly need this vacation.

Three weeks at the holidays with my boy, surrounded by the people we love in one of the prettiest places on Earth, the lovely Valley of the Moon. Twinkling lights on the Plaza, Christmas dinner with all the fixins, Murphy's!, Mary's!, Rin's!, a hike or two to precious places, a trip to SF, and best of all, visiting with family and friends who are sorely missed. I can honestly say there is no place on the planet I'd rather be for the holidays! :)

Aloha pumehana...

Emma's Here!!

Emma Ann

6 lbs., 11 oz.

Welcome to the world, sweet baby girl!

Images of Favorite Haunts

I realize I've been lax with posting photos lately. So here a few from Malaekahana Beach up toward North Shore and then a couple from walking down around Diamond Head, which is very close to home and a favorite place to walk.

Malaekahana is a good beach for privacy or solitude. It's gorgeous and always empty. When I took these, there were some taiko drummers up on the hill in the trees, but the beach was empty. It was very primal, with the drum rythms wafting down from the hill. This is also the beach where I saw R5AY, my first Hawaiian Monk Seal about a year ago. The island in close off the beach is Goat Island, which you can swim to or walk to out over the reef at low tide.





And some glimpses of a little beach below Diamond Head and the house perched there over the sea. The bougainvilla above this post belongs to the same house and adorns their gate streetside.





Aloha pumehana...